Feel Tank

Amid the neoliberal transformation of Chicago--which extends capitalist market domination into every sphere, and substitutes competition and consumption for solidarity and social justice--the editors felt an urgent need to reclaim, rebuild, and redefine public space. The publication documents a period of cultural activism in Chicago stretching from 2000 to 2005, and covers various projects and organizations that responded to neoliberal restructuring. Topics include collective infrastructures, protest experiments, gentrification, public housing, and urban planning. (Adapted from introduction.)

A collection of writing, posters and documentation relating to four exhibitions and seminars since 2006 -- two held in Chicago's Mess Hall, two in Copenhagen, Denmark. The events were a collaboration between the Ydre Norrebro Kultur Bureau (YNKB) and The Library of Radiant Optimism for Let's Re-make the World "as a way to question and react to political, emotional, and social apathy in the face of world wide environmental and economic crisis and war." The Chicago events were held at the Mess Hall in June 2007 and from Jan. 18 to 20, 2008.